Magic Tree House

Wintertime Beauty

One of my cardinals that visits my yard every day.

He knows I always have something good for him to eat.

Around My Yard

This is my outside door up on my balcony.

My weathered and rustic looking

garden shed.

Some old tools & birch branches

in a barrel by my front door.

This is what my pond's waterfall looked like

last Sunday.

My pond was completely iced over. My

two koi fish side by side beneath the ice .

Around My Yard

This is a half eaten pumpkin that I threw in the woods

when I was changing over to my winter decorations. The

squirrels found everything and have been feasting . The other morning I saw a squirrel trying to carry this piece up a tree & the poor guy kept dropping it . I felt bad for

him but there wasn't much I could do to help.

I spotted this cardinal the other morning & thought

how brilliant the color looked against the bare

tree branches.

Some antique pieces & pretty red berries

decorate the front area of my house.

My shed window with it's lace curtain,

green glass, and red berries . I like keeping

my decorations simple in and outside

of my old house which was built in 1891.

Time To Play

My Latest Creation ................

I Love Doing These Paper Weights .

So Much To Be Thankful For Be thankful for each & every day that you wake up , see the sun shining , hear the birds singing and chirping , see your pets wagging at you , see your loved ones smiling back at you ...........

Around My House

Around My House

THREE MORE FUN ART PROJECTS THIS MORNING !

I Want A Baby Panda!

How cute are these twin baby pandas ? ! I just want to pick one up and hug it. These are the newest pair of panda twins born recently.

New Art Piece

I had fun doing this one, it's like a little shadow box.

Forever Friends

Some Very Old Toys

This doll was bought from an old woman at a tag sale.

She told me it was very old , I'm just not sure how old.

It is filled with sawdust . I know this because if I

move the doll around at all the sawdust comes right

through the cloth.

This Teddy is made with real fur and I think

it's from Germany. I'm not sure what kind of

fur it is . I bought this bear at an estate sale &

the previous owner was a furrier. The bear

also has glass eyes.

I love this Kangaroo & baby . It came from

the same estate sale as the bear . This may also

be from Germany because most of their things

were. I think that it may be an early Steiff

animal that was made before they started

putting the trade mark button in the ear.

That would bring us to early 1900's . This

Kangaroo is made of mohair I think and stuffed

very tightly with straw. The stitching is very

sturdy also & it has glass eyes.

~So if anyone can tell me more about these items

please leave me a comment.~

Two More Pieces of Altered Art

I'm having fun with it but please remember , I

am a beginner!

Some Lovely Ladies

This pretty lady dressed in blue was living

at The Goodwill Shoppe when I found her.

For $5.00 I rescued her and took her home .

She's a handmade doll made by a lady

who is local to this area .

These two ladies above are very old dolls

that are also musical. They were found

at a tagsale & adopted by me for only

$2.00 each. I think when I'm working

during the day they all run down to

the kitchen to drink tea and nibble

on my sweets that I have hidden.

That's why my goodies always

disappear so fast !

We Found A Billiken !

This was an interesting tag sale find for us .

We probably paid 50 cents for it and then went home

and looked it up on the internet .

We found out that Billiken was created as .....

~"The God of Things as They Ought to Be".~

It was created in the early 1900's before the cupie doll.

The Cupie doll was crafted with similarities of the Billiken.

This Billiken that we found is of a sculpted material & it has

a coin or token embedded in the bottom of it.

"I'm Billiken whose lucky grin

Makes gloom run out and joy run in

I'm fond of little boys and girls

I love to nestle 'gainst their curls

And so that it could be arranged

Into a doll myself I've changed."

~"As long as I smile at you bad luck can't harm you."~

"The smiling god of good fortune,

The original divinity of optimism,

Whose cheerful countenance

Brings good luck

And happy days to all who

Observe this rule of life:"

~"BE CHEERFUL AND YOU WILL BE RICH IN EVERYTHING." ~

"I am the God of Happiness,

I simply make you smile,

I prove that life's worth living

And that everything's worth while;

I force the failure to his feet

And make the growler grin,

I am the God of Happiness,

~~My name is Billiken.~~"

"I am the God of Luckiness,

Observe my twinkling eye—

Success is sure to follow those

Who keep me closely by;

I make men fat and healthy

Who were quarrelsome and thin;

I am the God of Luckiness,

~~My name is Billiken. ~~"